Apparatus for concentrating ores



Aug. 25, 1936.

H. H. WADE APPARATUS FOR CONQENTRATING ORES Filed Feb. 26, 1934 9 /V F M E. t 0 l w s 6 8 Ww 5 p l 7 I l 4l IL. m I n RRRRRRRS 7 m 4 J m 2 m lv a d m ,e lum l .2 .n

a, n NE M D LA M Ww w LHMA Y R@ m l Y B hanmail nag.. sa laat attain e it lz l attain This invention relates to an improved apparatus for concentrating ores and other materials by a jigging action.

An object of the invention is to provide an ap paratus for concentrating ores and other materials comprising a, tank adapted to contain a liquid, usually water, and havinga flexible tube or member mounted therein below the surface of the water and provided with means whereby it may be alternately inflated and deflated in rapid succession, to thereby imparta pulsating action to the water in the upper portion of said tank, whereby a jigging action is imparted to the material delivered thereto.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the class described comprising a tank having a screen supported in the upper portion thereof and onto which the material to be treated is delivered, and said tank normally being filled with water to a level above the surfaceoi said screen, and a exible member or tube being horizontally dis-A posed in the water in said tank, below the screen, and having a connection with a valve mechanism for controlling the now of air to and from said flexible member, whereby said member may be alternately inflated and deflated to impart a pulsating action to the water, to thereby cause the latter to pulsate through said screen and thus lll impart a ligging action to the material passing thereover, whereby the various materials contained in the mass are separated according to their Aspecific gravities, and means being provided for regulating the operation of said valve mechanishm, Aand also for controlling the flow of air to and from said exible member, whereby the operation of the latter may be readily controlled to eect a thorough separation of all of the various materials contained in the mass of material delivered to the apparatus for treatment.

Other objects of the invention reside in the particular arrangement of the flexible tube or member within the tank; in the valve mechanism provided for controlling the flow of air to and from said member, to thereby cause it to alternately inilate and deflate; inv the means whereby the supply of air to the flexible member may be increased while the ow of air therefrom to the atmosphere is decreased, and whereby the exible member may be suddenly inated while its deation -will ratus, the operation of which may be controlled at-will While the apparatus is in operation, whereby the separating action of the apparatus may be varied ln accordance with thematerial delivered be gradual; and, in the provision of such an appar.

Other objects of the invention will appear fromv the following description and accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not coniined to the exact features shown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

in the drawing:

Figure l diagrammatically illustrates an apparatus for concentrating ores, embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 2 2 of Figure l, showing the nexible member or tube within the tank expanded;

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the ilexible tube or member contracted or collapsed', as when the air is released therefrom;

Figure d is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5 5 of Figure l, showing the liquid circulating passage provided in one of the heads of the lierrible member. l

In the selected embodiment of the invention here shown, there is illustrated in Figure l, for

vpurposes of disclosur an apparatus comprising a tank l having a hopper bottom .l terminating in a discharge spout l, shown provided with a suitable gate valvevl.

A suitable screen t is shown mounted in the upper portion of the tank 2 and onto this screen the material to be treated is delivered from a feed spout l, leading from a suitable source of supply. Water is also delivered into the tank t from the spout l, as is customary in apparatus of this general character. 'A gate t is provided at the discharge end of the tank l above the screen t. This gate is vertically adjustable and is shown having a discharge opening d through which the coarse high gravity material, commonly known as coarse concentrate, discharges into a suitable receiving spout ll in the usual manner. vThe low gravity material contained in the mass is carried over the rear wall lll of the tank with the water which overiiows this wall, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 4,'and is discharged into a receiving spout l2. This material is usually known as tailings, if it happens to be' a waste product, or as middlings,

ii' its quality is of such a nature as to warrant retreating it.

Additional water may be supplied to the tank 2 from a pipe I3 provided with a suitable valve Il. A flapper valve I5 is mounted within the tank 2 and acts as a check valve and allows water to flow from pipe I3 into tanki2, but prevents water in the tank from flowing back into pipe I3.

An important feature of this invention resides in the means provided for imparting a jigging or pulsating action to the water in the upper portion of the tank, whereby the `water will pulsate through` the screen 6 and thereby impart a jigging action to the material passing thereover to cause it to quickly stratify.

Such means is here shown as comprising a ilexible tube or member I6, which is supported upon a suitable supporting structure comprising spaced pipes I 1 and kvI8, having their end portions secured in suitable heads I 9 and 2|. These heads are preferably formed of metal and are suitably secured to the terminals of the pipes I1 and I8 to thereby provide a unitary frame structure adapted to support the flexible tube I6. The ends of the tube I6 are shown secured to the heads I9 and 2| in leak-proof relation by suitable bands 22. The pipes I1 and I8 are provided with suitable apertures 20 to establish communication between the interiors thereof' and the interior of the tube I6. A slot 2 I is provided in the head 2| and establishes direct communication. between the interior of the member I6 and the pipe 24.

'Ihe head I9 is shown secured to the wall 23 of the tank 2, -which wall portion 23 may be slightly o'set as shown in Figure 1. The opposite head 2| is secured to a supply pipe 24 which passes through the offset wall portion 25 of the tank 2, and has its opposite end communicating with an air chamber 26 of a suitable valve mechanism, generally indicated by the numeral 21, and which is adapted to be driven by an operating mechanism 28 from av suitable motor 29. An air supply pipe 3| connects an air supply tank 32 to the chamber 30 of the intake valve 33. A valve 34 is provided in the pipe 3| for controlling the flow of air from the tank 32 to the valve mechanism. Air may be supplied to the tank 32 from a suitable pipe 35 connected to a suitable source of air-supply, under pressure, andwhich is not shown in the drawing.

An air discharge pipe 36 is connectedto the valve chamber 31 of the exhaust valve 36, whereby when the exhaust valve 38 is opened, air under pressure in the chamber 26 will discharge through the open exhaust valve 38 into the chamber 31, from whence it will discharg to the atmosphere through the pipe 36. A suita le valve 39 is provided in the pipe 36 to regulate the flow of air from the flexible tube I6 to the atmosphere.

I'he valve mechanism 21, as hereinbefore stated, is driven from the motor 29, the speed of 'which' may be varied by suitable means such, for example, as a rheostat, diagrammatically indicated at 40 in Figure 1.

In Vthe operation of the apparatus, the motor 29 is started, whereby the valve mechanism is set into motion, which causes the valves 33 and 36 to alternately open and close. When the intake .valve 33 is opened, compressed air from the chamber 32 enters the tube I6, whereby the latter is inflated or expanded substantially as shown in Figure 2. 'Ihe intake valve 33 then closes, whereupon the exhaust valve 36' opens to thereby permit the air within the tube I6 to exhaust to the atmosa'ocaasi phere through the pipe 36. V'If the valve 39 is wide open, the air within the flexible tube I6 will quickly exhaust to the air because of the pressure of the water against the walls thereof. As the valve mechanism continues in operation, the ilexible tube I6 is alternately inflated and deflated in rapid succession, whereby a pulsating action is imparted to the water in the tank 2 which causes the water to pulsate up and down through the screen6.

The ore or material feed is then started, and as the material is delivered onto the surface of the screen 6, the water pulsating therethrough will cause the ore to stratify, the high specific gravity material lowering to the bottom-ot the bed and the low specific gravity material rising to the top of the bed, as indicated in-'Figure l'. The fine ,high gravity ore passes through the screen 6 into the lower portion 4I of the tank 2, commonly known to the 'trade as the hutch compartment, from which it is drawn off through the valve 5, located at the bottom of the hopper 3. If the material thus` passing through the screen into the hutch compartment 4| is of high grade, it is commonly known as hutch concentrate. If it is not of high grade, it is commonly known as hutch product.

The relatively coarser high gravity material, which cannot pass through the screen 6, is discharged from the upper portion of the tank through the discharge opening 9 in the vertically adjustable gate 9. This relatively coarser high gravity material is commonly known as the coarse concentrate. The low gravity material which rises to the top of the bed on the screen 6, overflows the rear wall I0 of the upper portion of the tank, as hereinbefore stated, and discharges into the spout I2.

It will be noted that when the tube I6 is inflated or expanded, by the admission of air thereinto, water in the tank 2 is displaced, and as the water cannot escape from the lower portion of the tank, it is forced upwardlythrough the screen 6. Conversely, when the tube I6 is deflated, as when the exhaust valve 36 is opened, the pressure of the water against the walls thereof will cause it to collapse,.as shown in Figure 3, whereby water in the upper portion of the tank will flow downwardly through the screen 6. To afford a clearer explanation of the operation of the tube I6, the inflation thereof will hereinafter be referred to as the pulsion stroke, and the deflation thereof. the suction stroke.

As a result of the novel construction of the means herein disclosedfor imparting a pulsating action to the water in the tank 2, the desired Jigging action may be imparted to the material traveling over the screen. This is brought about because of the universal adjustment of the apparatus, whereby the number of pulsion and suction strokes per minute may be varied, and whereby the type of stroke and the intensity thereof can easily be regulated while the apparatus is in motion. The best conditions for specific gravity separation can be obtained easily. by properly adjusting the operation of the flexible tube Il. The apparatus may be operated at high speed without mechanical diiculties, such as are commonly experienced with other types 'of apparatus now in common use. Another advantage in the use of the flexible tube or member I6 is that the operation of the apparatus may be completely interrupted, while fully loaded, and then started again without loss of time, as a and the duration of the quiscentperiod at` the end of each pulsion stroke.

3. In a jig for concentrating ores and similar materials, a tank adapted to receive a liquid therein and having a screen for the reception of the material, a fiuid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned within said tank directly below said screen and in relatively close proximity thereto, and means for supplying and exhausting iiuid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid above said member, said means including a source of iiuid under pressure and a plurality of valves interposed between said sourcer and said member, the operating means for said valves being. adjustable to vary independently the number of pulsations per unit of time, the amplitude of each pulsation, and the duration of the quiescent period at the end of the pulsion stroke.

4. In a jig for concentrating ores and similar materials, a tank adapted to receive a liquid therein and having a screen for the reception of the material, a fluid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned within said tank beneath said screen and in relatively close proximity thereto, and means for supplying and exhausting fluid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid above said member, said means including a source of fluid under pressure and ay mechanically actuated .valve mechanism for alternately admitting huid under pressure to said member and exhausting the pressure fluid from said member, and additional valve` means for controlling the fluid from said source to said valve mechanism and the exhaust from said member.

5. In a jig for concentrating ores and similar rriaterials,"y a tank adapted to receive a liquid therein and having a. screen for the reception of the material, a uid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned Within said tank di` rectly below said screen and in relatively close proximity thereto, and means for supplying and exhausting iiuid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid above said member, said means including a source of uid under pressure and a mechanically actuated valve mechanism ior alternately admitting fluid under pressure to said member and exhausting the. pressure iluid from said member, means for varying the operatlonpi said mechanically actuated valve mechanism, and additional valve means for controlling the Huid from said source to said valve mechanism and the exhaust from said member.

amasar 6. In a jig for concentrating bres and similar materials, a tank adapted to receive a liquid therein and having a screen for the reception of the material, a fluid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned within said tank directly below said screen and in relatively close proximity thereto, and means for supplying and exhausting iluid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid above said member, said means including a source ot uid under pressure and a mechanically actuated valve mechanism for altern ately admitting iluid under pressure to said member and exhausting the pressure fluid from said member, means for varyingthe operation oi' said mechanically actuated valve mechanism with respect to the timing oi said valves and the speed of operation of said valves, manually operable valve means for controllingl the supply of fluid from said source to said valve mechanism, and additional manually operable valve means i'or controlling the exhaust of fluid from said member. y

7. In a jig for concentrating ores and similar materials, a tank adapted to receive a Y liquid therein and having a, screen for the reception of the material, a fluid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned within said tank directly below said screen and in relatively close proximity thereto, and means for supplying and exhausting :duid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid above said member, said means including a source of fluid under pressure and a plurality of valves interposed between said source and said member, the operating means for said valves be-i ing adjustable to vary the duration of the quiescent period at the end of the pulsion stroke independently of the number of pulsations per unit of time.

t. In a jig for concentrating ores and similar materials, a tank adapted to receive avliq'uid therein and having a screen for the reception ci the material, a uid tight collapsible and expansible member positioned in operative relation to the iluid in said tank, and means supplying and exhausting fluid to and from said member to pulsate the liquid in said tank, said means including mechanism for varying independently ot HENRY H. WADE. 

